DEIVATHIN KURAL #156 (Vol #4) Dated 05 Mar 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL #156 (Vol #4) Dated 05 Mar 2011

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by Periyaval of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of the last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. Today we are proceeding from the middle of page number 866 of Vol 4 of the Tamil original. The readers may note that herein 'man/he' includes 'woman/she' too mostly. These e-mails are all available at http://Advaitham.blogspot.com updated constantly)
513. There are three possible reasons for people to get stuck as though in whatever they were doing in the paths of Karma or Bhakti such as visiting famous temple towns or chanting bhajans or doing social service, without aspiring for a release from the cycle of repeated birth and death by attaining to Aatma Saatchaatkaara or Adwaita Anubhava! One is that they might have arrived at a conclusion like the Aazhvaar who said, “ichchuvai tavira yaam poi indira lokam aaLum achchuvai perinum vendaen arngamaa nagaruLaane”, meaning thereby that, ‘I could not care less to even go and command the heavens like the Indira as compared to the pleasures of being a devotee of God’! Second plausible reason is that, in God’s plan of motivating the common man, such people far advanced in the path of Karma and Bhakti, should continue as model specimens for others to emulate! Third point is that such people are what Bhagawan Sri Krishna had referred to as, ‘Yoga Brashatas’ who are in their penultimate life time and in their next life will be born under such favourable circumstances that they will attain to Jeevan Mukti without seemingly much effort, ‘anaayaasena aatma gnaanam’!
514. This is just sharing my thoughts with you and not some indisputable declaration of Saastra. That is, whether they kept Adwaitam as the aim or not, in the earlier stages when they initially started with Dwaita Saadhanaas, they got so happily contented that they forgot the original aim. Many great Mahatmas, who talked of Dwaita Moksha, are said to have again taken birth to further propound the same Siddhaanta. May be God accommodates, so to say, “If your aim is that you do not want Adwaitam and only Dwaita Moksham, OK! You shall be given that.” Having got rid of the thief, if you fall in love with the policeman, what can be done? Earlier the requirement was to get release from very evil forces. Later if you get enamoured of the very cleansing process, nobody can help you.
515. In the Deva – Asura sangraam, first the Asuras have to be defeated. This is to be done by using the divine forces. Later if you want to continue to keep these divine forces, you are perpetuating your mortal existence. After all, they are also some seeming appearances as part of the order of life! Good or bad, they are not NirguNa Aatma. GuNa is a matter of the mind, different to the Aatma, reviving all the concomitant problems of Dwaitam that we had seen earlier in detail! This mind is a non-existing entity as the Anaatma or the non – Aatma. So, the eternal bliss of Aatma can never be experienced till one’s separateness as a Jeeva is emphasised! So, after getting rid of the Asuric forces by use of the divine ones, they also have to be dropped. The peace of Aatma can never be experienced till the divine forces persist. If not the enemy like the Asuric forces, the divine forces are also alien to Aatma only. Both alien and enemy are almost similar only. There shall be no second person if the aim is the realization of the Aatma! Unless we arrive at pure and simple Aatma, which does not know of a second to do anything with, let alone fight with, you cannot have the end release!
516. When we say that the battle of Asuric and divine forces take place, the location of the battle field is in the Jeevan. Who is that Jeevan? It is the human mind which thinks of itself as a separate entity. It is this ‘separate entity’ of this human Jeevan with his mind and lock, stock and barrel, has to go, disappear, vanish, vamoose, vacate and cease to be! Only when this man with this mind goes, will the Deva – Asura sangraam come to an end. First God told us to win over the negative forces of Kaama, Krodha et al. Then the divine forces also have to vacate the mind without a trace, as the mind itself is on the verge of disappearing! So the mind finally has to be merged in Aatma without a forwarding address! That is the way!
517. Divine Forces can also be bothersome pests! One is that we get too attached to them, like the example I gave about the police man. By the sense of well being that they can provide we can remain beholden to them forever. Nowadays we see that there is no place devoid of corruption. Some police men too, exploit the situation and take advantage of the same! Having got rid of the temporary nuisance, they may wish to perpetuate their hold over our weakness. Like that even amongst the divine forces there are gradations right down to being not very good. They would like to retain us in their control for as long as possible! Many of the human tendencies are to be found represented amongst the Devas and Asuras. Some amongst the divine forces too could be interested in extending their hegemony and pride of place and prove to be a hurdle in our endeavour for total liberty.
518. Some Saadhaks at some point in their progress may get some superhuman powers and capabilities that may get them bogged down! They are known as Ashta Maha Siddhies namely, Anima (to become smaller than atoms or even microbes), Mahima (expanding one’s size to huge proportions), Laghima (weightlessness or levitation), Garima (become incredibly heavy), Praapti (or Vyaapti to permeate any medium), Praakaamyam (materializing at will), Easitvam (command over others) and Vasitvam (compelling attractiveness). Come to think of it, these are all run of the mill powers of Aatma, which is all yours without any efforts as long as you acknowledge your reality! If you are flabbergasted by any of these powers, you are also likely to go astray by the acquisition of any one of them!
519. Above all this, if you have unshakeable belief and faith in Easwara, then none of these powers can play tricks with us. It is not that we should have faith only in the SaguNa form as Easwara, even faith in the NirguNa form as Aatma will do. Whatever is our unwavering aim, that we will be enabled to reach. Then neither demoniacal nor divine forces will be able to derail us from the path.
520. Full of the power of Easwara, those divine forces constantly aware of their true being as the Parabrhmam will never hinder any soul from realizing their fullest potential of oneness with the supreme! Amongst them Appayya Deekshidar identifies Easwara, AmbaaL and Maha Vishnu as the Ratna Traya (the Three Gems). Further PiLLayar, SubrahmaNya Swami, Lakshmi and Saraswathi are also like that, so also are Avataras of Rama and Krishna!
521. There are two points clearly emerging from the foregoing discussion which should always be borne in mind. One – we may follow any of the powers sucha IruLan, Kaatteri, Veeran, MudakkaNNi Amman and such others. Instead of thinking of them as some minor power, we should be devoted to them as another form of the same Paramatma, then the indwelling Antaryaami being the same, he will do the needful without any problems that they could do as those individual powers! Two – the other end of the spectrum of what I had said just now. If you look at Easwara or Paramaatma too as being something other than ourselves; and feel that whatever bliss and happiness one gets through them is sufficiently satisfactory; and do not feel any need for such too subtle and complicated philosophies as Adwaitam; then you are left to your own idiosyncrasies and fancies, as seen from many examples.
522. In this there is some differentiation still to be made. There may be some full of devotion, fully satisfied with the fact of devotion, either not knowing about Adwaitam or uncaring for it. There could also be some who knowing about Adwaitam as a concept, not wanting it! Though Bhakti is highly satisfying by itself, when the Adwaita Anubhava occurs they may not say ‘No’ to it and refuse it. For such devotees, Easwara may give the Adwaita Anubhava with the necessary interest , comprehension and involvement.
523. Earlier I told you how, Sri Krishna had clarified to Arjuna, “you do your prayers addressed to which ever God; I will enable you to understand my reality the way I am and enable you to enter me and become me!” That can be considered as the assurance from God, that whether you go by the path of Karma or Bhakti, you pray to this God or that, whether you know about Adwaitam or not; the end Mukti is one and the same!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.